


(Insanity) Madman

by queenwcrown



Series: PJO & HoO Short Stories [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Creepy, F/F, F/M, Feuds, Fluff, Kidnapping, M/M, Multi, Past Abuse, Romance, slighty horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-01
Updated: 2015-11-01
Packaged: 2018-04-29 07:16:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5119757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenwcrown/pseuds/queenwcrown
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>People from the town start going missing.  The only thing that the group can do is sit by the side lines.</p>
            </blockquote>





	(Insanity) Madman

**Author's Note:**

> Title: Madman (Insanity)  
> Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; AU  
> Disclaimer : All rights reserved to Rick Riordan  
> Warnings: Slight creepiness  
> Pairings: Percy/Nico, Jason/Leo, Annabeth/Reyna, Hazel/Frank  
> Summary: People from the town start going missing. The only thing that the group can do is sit by the side lines.  
> Word Count: 10572  
> Freshman (Grade 9): Hazel  
> Sophomore (Grade 10): Nico, Frank  
> Juniors (Grade 11): Jason, Leo, Piper  
> Seniors (Grade 12): Percy, Annabeth, Reyna, Luke  
> Out of School: Thalia 
> 
> The four main groups:  
> Percy's  
> Luke's  
> Octavian's  
> Nico's
> 
> WARNING! May contain triggers! Proceed with caution!

**Madman**

_Creak_ went the window shutters as the wind blew against the rickety house. The trees around it seemed to whistle though they were leafless, lifeless. The ground around it was a brownish gray and the woods around it seemed to leaned away from the property. The house itself was an old style, but had turned gray from the lack of care. Though the property looked bland and dead, there was a candle light from within the house, flickering like it could sense the officer as he walked towards the door.

He knocked twice. Nothing each time. He knocked again, this time more forcefully. The door opened and a shadowed figure stood there, shorter than the man of law had expected and a soft, male voice spoke. “How may I help you?” The boy asked quietly.

“Are your parents home?” The officer asked before wincing internally as his voice seemed to echo around the house and across the field.

“No, they are...away,” the boy told him. “But please, come in. My sister will be home momentarily.” The officer noticed that the younger paused now and then when he talked, like he was trying to find the best way to say something. He always spoke softly, like he wasn't used to talking that much.

“Thank you, but no, I must be going-”

“Please, I insist,” the officer suddenly felt the need to run, but instead walked into the house as the boy opened it up more. “Besides, it's almost tea time.”

~*~

“Wow, another one, eh? Is the mayor going to finally do something about the missing people?” A young, sea green eyed male asked.

A girl with gray eyes shook her head. “My mother says that he has yet to say anything about it. I think he is just scared like he always is. I don't even know how he became the mayor.”

“Because he likes the feeling of being in power. You know how my father is,” the blond male said.

“Sparky, your father is just an idiot. No offense,” a curly haired boy told him.

The electric blue eyes of the male blond, rolled. “Leo, shut up.”

“What, it's true. Come on, you have to admit that you're all thinking it,” Leo gave them a look and the sea green eyed male nodded.

“He's got a point.”

“Quiet, Jackson,” a tall female with braided, black hair walked up to them. A tag with the name Reyna on her uniform. “Now, what do you guys want to eat? Annabeth, you ready to finally order?”

Annabeth pouted. “You're so mean to me! I'm your girlfriend, and I tried this meal yesterday.”

Reyna raised a brow. “Annie, you've tried everything on the menu. Just pick your favorite or start from the beginning again. Now, Jason, Leo, Percy, tell me what you guys want or all your getting is water.”

“I like water,” Percy retorted, causing Jason to give him an odd look.

Leo smiled at Reyna flirtatiously. “Well, I know what I want.”

Annabeth hit the table with the palm of her hand. “That's my girlfriend, bud. Back off!” She looked up again. “I would like the parmesan chicken on caeser salad please.” The boys then all yelled out their orders.

“Okay, so three burgers and fries, one parmesan chicken on caeser salad, one water, a lemonade, and two mountain dews. I'm be back with your meal in about ten minutes,” Reyna said, kissing Annabeth on the forehead and heading to the counter to give the order to another person named Hazel.

The males started to talk again about different random things as the door opened, making the little bell ring. In walked a pretty girl with the eyes that changed color.

“Piper!” Leo yelled, waving his hand. “Over here!”

Piper rolled her eyes. “I saw you through the window, Leo.” She said before sitting across from Annabeth and Percy, squishing Leo against Jason, and Jason against the wall. She put her elbows on the table and noticed the news paper that Annabeth had. “You've read about the missing officer then.”

Percy nodded while playing with the napkins. “Yeah, I don't even know why they even go down to the house. If people are missing why don't they just send in the whole police force?”

“Because it costs a lot of money and you remember what happened the last time someone disobeyed the mayor.” The bell sounded again and in walked a figure dressed in black. He headed to the counter and Percy narrowed his eyes.

“Wait, isn't that the emo kid from our school?” He asked.

Annabeth nodded. “Yep, that's Nico di Angelo. He used to work here and was good friends with Reyna, but then he quit. Don't know what happened though. Started dressing in black a couple of years back.”

“Yeah,” Jason agreed. “I remember Nico. Me and him used to have shifts together. I also remember that Hazel is his half sister.”

Piper's eyebrows shot up and looked around Leo who was doing something with a kinder egg toy. “Really, I would've never guessed.”

“Same father,” Leo muttered and set the toy on the table. It started to move and then stopped. Leo picked it up. “Here Percy, have a half broken toy.” Said person took it and smiled at the elf looking boy.

“Thank Leo, you're the best.” Annabeth rolled her eyes.

Reyna came out with the orders and placed them on the table. “Is that all?” She asked and looked towards Nico for a moment before looking back at the group. Percy found it odd as to why she did it, but decided that it might of just been here remembering who he was. They nodded their heads. “See you after work, Annabeth.” The manager then walked away and started to serve other people.

“Wow, how long have you two been dating again? It feels like such a long time,” Leo said, looking at Annabeth with all his attention.

“Maybe three years, since grade nine,” she answered. “And it just feels like a long time because it took forever for Jason to finally tell you his feelings.” Said person blushed.

“I was just debating on whether or not it was worth risking our friendship, thank you very much,” Jason retorted and crossed his arms to fake being mad.

Leo leaned against him and put a hand to his chest, fluttering his eyelashes. “Well, I think it was worth it.” Percy snorted and Annabeth hit him over the head, making him mutter a small “ow”.

“Shut up, Seaweed Brain. I know that you're jealous of all the relationships that are happening around you.”

Piper gasped. “Why does everyone keep forgetting about me?”

Percy lay a hand on her's. “Don't worry, you'll find someone in the next life.”

The Cherokee descendant opened her mouth to reply but the sound of something breaking caught their attention. All their heads swiveled to see the town's bad boy, Luke Castellan, and his gang. He was standing about a foot from Nico, who was still standing beside the cash register. A pile of food and broken plates was on the ground between them and soon Reyna came out with a rag, broom and mop. Annabeth sat up straight, got up and walked over to help her girlfriend.

Percy sometimes heard about some of the fights between Luke and emo kid, who he now knew the name of. He didn't know why, but there was always gossip about how there was a fight and one and/or the other had bruises.

~*~

Nico stared up at the blond from underneath his hood, his eyes blank and his heart beating steadily. His hands clenched inside his coat pockets, wanting to punch the taller and older male in front of him. He knew that he would get in trouble, and no doubt someone would try and send another psychiatrist at him, but this teen made his blood boil.

So, he brought his fist back and punched Luke right in the nose, smirking as he heard it crack. He then grabbed the draw strings of the blonde's hoodie and pulled him close, whispering something in his ear before pushing him away and leaving the cafe.

Nico closed his eyes when he got out of the diner and opened them again, sighing and taking out his phone to see a text message from his sister, Hazel.

 _Are you okay?_ It said and he smiled slightly.

_Yeah, I kind of lost it in there, sorry. Tell Reyna that I'll pay her back for the broken dishes and wasted food._

_Okay, just be a little more careful. We don't want something like before happening again._

Nico nodded his head, though he knew that Hazel wouldn't be able to see it and continued to walk down the road.

~*~

“LET IT GO, LET IT GO!” Leo sang.

“JASON! Shut your boyfriend up,” Piper yelled as she stalked towards the group who were all sitting under the tree outside of the school. “Also, why am I always to last one to arrive? This is total baloney!”

“Baloney?” Reyna asked, her arm slung over Annabeth's shoulders as the latter read _Pride and Prejudice_.

“I like baloney,” Percy said, holding one of his ear buds in his hand.

Annabeth scoffed. “I don't doubt it.” She then set down her book after putting in the bookmark and checked the time. “Well, I have to go. My mother wants me home for dinner and I also have to pack.”

Reyna sighed and took Annabeth's hand in her's, kissing the back of it. “Do you have to go? I'm sure that your father and step-monster won't mind if you don't visit until your over 20.”

Annabeth let out a little chuckle and smirked. “I'll be back in a couple of days, it's only for a weekend. Besides, I spent thanksgiving with my mother last year and you know how it goes. I'll be here for Christmas this year though.”

“Can I have my present now?”

Leo gagged. “Ew, guys keep it in the bedroom!”

“Yeah, because you and Jason totally do that,” Percy retorted and laughed when the couple turned bright red. “Besides, we've seen it all. Remember last year when we played truth or dare.”

Piper shivered. “I will never be able to get those pictures out of my head.” The honking of a horn caught her attention and she sighed, looking behind her. “Well, got to go. Bye!” She turned and ran towards her half-sister's car which honked again. “I'm coming, dammit!” Leo snickered.

Annabeth opened her mouth to say something, but Percy tuned it out when he saw Nico standing against the wall near the corner. Hazel and Frank were sitting at the table a couple of feet away while the teen was fiddling with his phone. The cinnamon haired girl turned to him and he replied, not taking his eyes off his device.

Nico's eyes snapped up, only to catch Percy looking at him. They both froze and stared at each for who knows how long. Percy was only brought out of the staring contest when a hand came into view. He looked up to see Jason standing there, an eyebrow raised. The sea green eyed male sighed and took the hand that pulled him into a standing position. Looking around, he noticed that Leo, Annabeth and Reyna were gone, their cars nonexistent in the parking lot.

Percy took one more look towards the corner, frowning slightly to see it empty and stuffed his iPod into his pocket. He opened the passenger door of Jason's car and slide inside.

When they got onto the road, Jason's eyes glanced at him before turning back to the road. “Nico, eh?”

Percy's eyes widened and he looked out of the window to see the houses pass by, hoping that Jason didn't see his blush. “Shut up.” Jason laughed.

~*~

“Rainbow road?” Percy asked and Jason glared at him.

“Your terrible at that course, which means I'm going to lose. Besides, what's the fun of driving around a track you keep falling off of, I don't get it,” the blond narrowed his eyes and Percy smiled.

“Come on, you know it's fun! And at least Leo isn't here,” the green eyed male reminded his friend, smirking when he groaned.

“I still don't get how he can be so good at that course.”

Percy sighed and picked a random one instead and they were on their way again. They were honestly terrible at Mario Cart even though they've been playing it since Jason started high school, but this was the one game that they still couldn't win. They were amazing at first person shooter games and oddly enough puzzle games, but Mario Cart was on a whole other level of madness and rage.

Jason threw down his controller. “I give up!” He yelled, making Percy laugh loudly.

“Dude, we've been playing for like, what? An hour. That's nothing!” The dark haired male continued to laugh as the blond glared at him.

“You know what, I hate you,” Jason gave him a fake angry look and stood up. “Want something to eat?” Percy nodded and dropped the controller, causing his friend to scowl at him. As the blue eyed male looked through the cupboards, Percy started to think.

What did he think? He thought about the house that stood outside of the town. From the pictures, it was a creepy thing and he knew that because he and some friends had tried to sneak onto the property, he remembered feeling a strange chill go down his back. Even now, any thought about it brought back the chill. It was strange though, he still didn't know his mother moved them outside of town with his second step-father, making him pass it almost everyday by foot on the the way there and back from school or town.

He also thought about Annabeth. He was worried that she would get into another fight with her father, it had happened last year on Christmas, and the Thanksgiving two years ago. She had told them they mainly fought about stupid things like him leaving her mother and marrying an uptight, strict woman and had two other children. Other than that, all they knew was that he was some kind of scientist.

Finally, he thought about the boy with the raven hair and dark eyes. He burrowed his head in his crossed arms, his forehead resting against the cold surface of the counter in hopes of cooling down his red face. Nico di Angelo was...undoubtedly sexy. With his bad boy appearance, strong and alluring personality and a beautiful bone structure, he was everything Percy could ever want all packed into a package that he would love to hold in his arms.

Percy let out a longing sigh, making Jason look at him and snort in a very un-Jason-like way. “Thinking about a certain dark angel?” He asked, tossing an apple to Percy when he raised his head. The sea green eyed male let out a huff, rubbed the apple against his jacket and bit into it.

“No,” he said, though it was muffled by the large piece of fruit in his mouth, so he just ended up spraying some apple juice across the counter. Jason cringed. “No,” he repeated after he swallowed.

“Sure,” Jason drawled, rolling his eyes. Percy gave him his best glare and then glanced at the clock, finishing his apple.

“I better get going,” he told his friend. The blond waved his hand in goodbye and the door closed behind the black haired male.

~*~

“Percy!” Reyna's voice called out, startling the boy. Her hand landed on his shoulder and she turned him around so that he could, against his will, stare at her piercing eyes. “Have you seen Annabeth?” She asked.

He gave her a confused look. “Um...no, why? Didn't she arrive from her dad's yesterday?” Percy winced when her grip tightened.

“No, I assumed that she had gone over to your house since she usually does after coming home. Her mom called me this morning asking me where she was and that she had already called Sally. I just thought that maybe...” Reyna trailed off.

“Hey, Reyna, what's wrong?” Jason's voice asked as the three came towards them. The school halls were slowly becoming unclogged and the sound of teachers talking could be heard through the thin walls. A small group of two passed by them and Percy recognized them as Ethan Nakamura and Charles Beckendorf, football players. They gave them odd looks before turning the corner.

The brunette female that currently had Percy in her grips, let go and took a step back, taking in a deep breath. “It's Annabeth, I haven't heard from her all weekend or today. I've called, texted, nothing. It's like she disappeared.”

Percy's eyes grew wide. “Or she was kidnapped! Annabeth told me that we should start looking for some evidence so we could find out who was behind the missing people. We went there a couple of times to look at the house and at the surrounding woods, we never got far thought because of some odd feelings.”

Piper's eyes were wide and her mouth was in a little “o”. “Do you think that she was kidnapped because you were getting too close?”

Jason had his thinking face on, the glasses really helped with that. “No, then Percy would be gone too, he does walk to and from school most of the time. I think that maybe Annabeth found something, maybe went snooping again or something.”

Reyna cursed. “That stupid intelligent girl!” Percy opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted.

“What's going on here?” A stern voice questioned. All of the pupils froze and looked towards the hall monitor, Mrs. Dodds. Her skin was wrinkled, eyes so narrow that they were basically slits, and to add to that, most of the time she was wearing something that could belonged to a CEO. Percy always wondered how she got the Mrs. in front of her name. “Why are you all out in the hallway, get to class and maybe you won't get detention for a week.” Knowing her though, Percy knew that he would have the “honor” of seeing her everyday for the next five days.

The green eyed male closed his locker after getting his binders and hurried off to class with Leo in tow. “Man, I hate that lady,” the Latino muttered.

The day seemed to go at a snail's pace, so when school ended, they all ran to the cars and then left the parking lot. “Okay, so what's our plan of action?” Jason asked, Percy holding the phone that was in a group call with Leo and Reyna's phones, Piper with the former.

“I don't know, but I think that it's best to ask others if they have seen Annabeth just in case she wasn't kidnapped,” Piper suggested.

“Okay, let's start with that,” Reyna turned right and they headed to the main part of town.

For the next four hours, they went from place to place asking if they had seen Annabeth Chase. Due to her mother being famous in the town, many people knew who she was, unfortunately, no one had seen her. They arrived at Cafe Jupiter and sat in the usual booth at the back while Reyna clocked in, though she was obviously very worried.

~*~

The chocolate colored haired girl looked up. “Hey Reyna.” Hazel frowned when Reyna walked past her without replying with her own greeting. The younger girl just shrugged it off as stress. She sniffled and muffled a cough. Hazel should've listened to her brother when he said she should stay home while he took her shift, but she didn't want him to work her job when he had his own commitments. Plus, it had been three days since she saw Frank, who was running late.

The door opened and in walked Olympus High's “god”, Luke Castellan. She glared at the male as he drew closer to the counter. “Can I get a cold cut sandwich to go?”

Hazel sighed and typed it into the register. “Sure, mayo or Greek feta?”

“Greek feta,” the tall blond replied. He handed over the money and in return, she gave him his receipt.

“I'll be right back with your order,” she started to walk away, then remembered that Frank wasn't there to watch over the register. “Hey, Jason, could you watch the counter for me?” The other blond nodded and stood to take over her position as she went to make the sandwich.

When she got to the back, Reyna was there furiously cooking and thanks to living in a house with a giant dog that thinks its small, Hazel had fast reflexes and caught the bowl that almost smashed against the tiles. “Reyna? What's going on with you?” The short girl asked as she got out the ingredients.

The dark haired female sighed and turned to Hazel slightly. “Have you seen Annabeth?”

Hazel frowned. “No, well, sort of. I think I saw her in the woods outside of our house, but when I looked again, she was gone. Though, I also need to ask if you've seen Frank?”

“What do you mean? Didn't he come in for his shift?”

She shook her head. “Nope, and I haven't seen him all weekend because I was sick and Nico went overprotective brother on me.”

“Wait, Annabeth...disappeared?” Reyna looked troubled when she tried to wrap her head around it. Hazel nodded and then remembered the time when Annabeth secluded herself to work on a project, but that couldn't be it since she came to the cafe to eat once a day. Frank also would've called her if he wasn't going to make it, hell, he would've Skyped her immediately after Nico didn't let him into the house. But he didn't, now Hazel was starting to worry big time.

“Where's my sandwich?” Luke's voice called in a very irritated tone. The curly haired girl gasped and finished it before rushing out of the back and handed him the food item.

“Sorry for the wait,” she apologized. He just snorted and left the place.

Jason, who was standing beside her, looked down at her with a worried look. “You okay? You look pale.” Hazel nodded. He looked skeptical. “If you say so...” Jason then went and sat beside his boyfriend once more. The girl looked at the table and counted them. Percy, Piper, Jason and Leo, Reyna was in the back, Luke had already ordered and left, her brother had just texted her a cute picture of their dog sleep on him. Then she counted the missing people, Annabeth, Frank, Luke's gang that she hadn't seen at school. Hazel suddenly felt faint, remembering the front page of the newspaper from four days ago. The missing cop had disappeared when he went down to the house to investigate.

Annabeth was always curious, Frank passed the place everyday to get to and from school, Luke's gang were troublemakers...but wait, when she had gone with Frank one day, they had seen Percy also heading that way. Why wasn't he gone? What was even going on anymore...

~*~

“Hey, Reyna, I think you should call Nico, Hazel doesn't look too good,” Leo commented, making everyone looked towards the cashier. The manager frowned and fished out her phone and texted the brother.

Ten minutes later, a car swerved into the parking lot and out come Nico who ran towards the door and came inside. He speed walked to his sister and placed his hand on her forehead. Percy was impressed with his driving if he made it to Cafe Jupiter in ten minutes on slippery roads.

They all watched as Nico went to the staff room and came back with her coat. A stern look was on his face as he kept muttering something, Hazel replied with something and he froze. “What do you mean he's missing?” The Italian gave her a confused, yet slightly irritated look. Then all hell broke loose with her as her hands flew and words were slurred together, tears started to stream down her face and she looked like she was on the verge of having a panic attack.

“..And he passes the house everyday, and you know how curious Annabeth is, and-and, Luke's gang are troublemakers, well most of them, and the cops and! O god, their dead, aren't they?!” Hazel wailed.

Percy's table all sat up straight as they stared at the girl. Annabeth went missing one day after the article came out...no, she didn't...why did she...? Horror filled Reyna's eyes before her eyes glistened, but they didn't fall, no instead she looked angry, livid.

She quickly got rid of her apron and took out her keys. “Come on, we're going on a trip.”

~*~

Percy didn't think that he would be meeting his new crush face to face on such...terrible grounds. He also didn't think that the first time he would be in Nico's car would be when they were heading the place of his best friend's possible murder scene. His grip tightened on the seat belt as Nico turned another corner. His crush was a maniac on the roads.

In the backseat, Hazel was curled up in a ball, a blanket thrown over her to keep her warm, or maybe to help her with the shock. Percy kind of wanted a blanket. As they went down the familiar road more, he recognized all of the dead trees that he passed a minimum of two times a day. The surroundings then started to look haunting, their bark gray, all of the color in the flowers was leeched. There was no leaves on the ground even after three years he had passed it, the trees were bare.

In front of them, the two cars slowed down and stopped at the beginning of the driveway. All of them filed out and stood in a huddled group. “Now what? Do we just knock on the door and yell “we know you did it!”?” Leo asked.

Reyna let out a sigh and started to head for the door before knocking heavily. The others followed behind her. _Creak_ went the door, only the inky darkness on the other side. “Wait, we're not actually going to go in there, are we?” Jason questioned, putting a hand on Reyna's shoulder when she took a small step forward.

“Well, what do you suggest we do?” She shrugged off his hand and went to take a step in, but then the door slammed shut, the sound of a latch flipped could be heard.

They stood there in stunned silence before Piper spoke. “Hey, guys...what's that?” They all turned to look the way she was pointing. In the distance, Percy could see the flashing of red and blue lights, and they were growing brighter. It seemed that after almost two years, the mayor was finally responding. When the vehicles got to them, men with guns poured out and pushed them away from the house, stating that it was dangerous. Percy didn't see how since it was an inanimate object. Someone then went past them with a battering ram. He swung it backwards and then put all of his might into it before it hit the door.

The plank of wood broke, spreading splinters everywhere. The guy with the ram was then sent to the ambulance. Percy felt slightly nauseous when he saw the splinters that were clinging to the man. Now he knew why they were moved out of the way. The others then went inside as the sound of shoes grew closer.

“There you are,” Annabeth's mother, Ms. Chase, stated in a very irritated voice. “You should be glad that someone from the town called us in, this would've become very tricky if all of you were captured. Don't do that again. Your parents will be arriving momentarily to take you home, you will go to your cars, but don't go anywhere.”

Nico slung his arm over Hazel's shoulders and pulled her along back towards the cars, Percy followed and soon the others did too, though Jason had to pull Reyna away by the arm. They all stood at the cars, backs against the cold metal as they watched the men come back out from the house, nothing else with them. Percy felt the gripping fear and gnawing guilt when he saw Annabeth's mother turn away, get back in her car and drive away. He could've have stopped this. His shoulders drooped and head was bowed.

A hand was placed on his shoulder and when he looked up to meet dark eyes, a female's voice rang out. “Percy!” His mother, Sally Jackson, ran towards him and pulled him into a tight hug. He immediately felt the lose of his crush's hand. “I was so worried when you didn't call and come home! I thought that something had happened to you. My little baby, please don't do that again!”

The green eyed male squeezed his eyes shut and hugged her back, fingers digging into her coat. The police didn't find Annabeth, Frank or any of the others, not even the person who lived in there. He didn't like it, he didn't like the feeling of being helpless, not being able to do anything as the men taped the house off, as they slowly got back into their cars and drove off. All Percy could do was cling to his mother and pray that his friends and school mates were alive and well.

~*~

It was Wednesday. Tuesday's classes had been canceled due to the reports on the papers and in the news. Percy sat numbly as the teacher continued to teach like normal as if the five missing students were never there to begin with. If it wasn't for his friends that were also mourning, he would've thought he had imagined the missing since the beginning. Ten more school mates had gone missing over the weekend, five of which were in his class, another two went missing yesterday. Ethan Nakamura and Alabaster Torrington, both football players. Annabeth, Frank and Silena Beauregard had been part of the ten.

Percy clenched his hand as the bell rang. Another day that Annabeth wasn't going to get marked as present, her perfect attendance had been broken. It made him mad that the teachers were going on as if nothing had happened, he hated them. Annabeth should be beside him in his classes, rolling her eyes as he scrolled through his music and doodled in his notebook. Ethan should be walking down the hallways, giving his group of friends an odd look. Alabaster should be in the cafeteria, glaring at him hatefully. But they weren't there.

The sound of someone sitting down beside him brought him out of his thoughts. He looked at the person now occupying the seat from beneath his fringe. Nico di Angelo. If it had been last Friday or the Monday not that long ago, he would've blushed and probably stammer out a small hello and introduction. He didn't feel like doing that though, and beside, the guy already knew him already because of Monday.

“Did you hear about it?” Someone asked from the table beside Percy's.

“No, I didn't, I was sick remember?” Was the reply. “Anyway, what?”

“The case about that madman that lives in that creepy haunted house is getting worse. Some of the top students have been going missing for some reason. I suspect that it's the weird dude from the front, you know the one with the cursed sister. Anyway, so the top student has gone missing because her mother threw her out and then went that way without knowing since she was in a daze. At least that's what I heard. I also heard that she was going past the house to bang her best friend with her girlfriend.”

There was a snort and Percy ducked his head. “Yeah, like Percy would agree to that. He's gay remember, he doesn't even want to touch a straight person since he hangs out with all those homos, and I don't want to be touched by him either.”

Nico stood up and took Percy's hand in his, leading him out of the cafeteria. “Hey, wait, my stuff was back...” he trailed off when he saw that the younger male was carrying it.

His crush didn't seem to hear him, or he was ignoring him on purpose. “Don't listen to those guys, they don't know anything,” Nico told him, his grip tightened to an almost painful level, but Percy found it oddly comforting. “Besides, gossip is fickle.” For the rest of their walk, Percy didn't pay attention to anything but the teen in front of him, he didn't even notice that they had entered the library and that the others were there. He didn't notice that Luke was there and that the Stolls were also there, he just kept staring at his crush like some creep.

~*~

“Yo, Perce,” Jason snapped is fingers in front of his best friend's face. No response. The blond looked between Percy and Nico, the former almost falling over on top of Nico since he was leaning so close. The dark eyed male ignored Percy. They were both sitting now, but that didn't do anything to stop Percy from looking at Nico like he had given him the Heavens or something.

Luke cleared his throat awkwardly. “Right, so...hi?” The other blond looked downright uncomfortable. Jason didn't know if it was because he was surrounded by the people he loathed, or because Nico was glaring at him so hard that it could've killed the guy.

“Right, let's get this meeting started. Jason, punch Percy,” Reyna ordered. The electric blue eyed teen winced, but punched Percy's arm hard enough to bring him out of his daze, but not enough to hurt the guy seriously. He did come out of his weird creeping with a yelp.

“Okay, so we are here to discuss the disappearance of our missing friends and lovers,” Piper told them all. “It's obvious that the person in the house is responsible since the person disappeared.”

“What we don't know is how or why they are all disappearing. It might be because they were all children of people the person didn't like and it's part of some elaborate plan of revenge, or it's just some psychopath that loves to trap people is his basement for slaughter,” Travis Stoll said, obviously not thinking before talking, making many of the people go pale. “I mean...oops?”

Nico snorted. “It's very insensitive, but at this point we can't rule anything out. My sister's boyfriend is missing, a shy guy who doesn't usually stray from Hazel's shadow.” That made said sister blush. “Annabeth is a curious creature, though she is smart, she also gets in trouble for stupid reasons like investigating matters that don't concern her. Ethan is...well, Ethan, friends with Alabaster, a mischievous trickster. Then there is a whole bunch of other people who also don't all share some sort of attribute with each other. So we can rule out that he takes people that resemble someone from his past.”

“Okay, so we're dealing with a kidnapping crazed, and possibly a homicidal, psychopath?” Percy asked. Nico hesitated, but then nodded.

“It's the most likely reason for doing all of this, but then again, some people have kidnapped and killed for stupid reasons like lollipops.”

“Plan of action?” Piper pipped in.

Reyna thought for a moment. “Go back to the property and take a look around to see if we can find some sort of cellar. Something that could hold many people, or something else...”

“Wait, you want us to look around without any sort of weapon for a cellar that a possible killer might be hiding out? Are you nuts? We don't even know the basics of what this guy can do, maybe he knows what we are doing right now, maybe he is one of us!” Luke exclaimed, suddenly becoming even more nervous. “You know that report two years-”

“Oh, don't be stupid,” Nico cut him off, a dark look on his face. “Why would any of us have a reason to kidnap and possible kill our own friends?” Nico asked.

“I bet is was you! All creepy, dressed in black and oddly okay with death! You hate getting attached to people and Annabeth stole Reyna from you, your once best friend!”

“Okay, this is getting ridiculous, you seriously think that Nico would do such a thing? He loves his sister, and dressing in black is just his style! You shouldn't judge anyone without really knowing them fully, especially _you_ , Luke,” Percy spat back. Jason stared wide at him and he knew that probably everyone else was too. He was always the laid back one, the one that was listening to music and doodling in his notebook, joking about silly things like how weird the weather reporter looked in his tie. The water loving boy was always so happy – even back when his first step-father, Gabe, had verbally abused him – he was always hiding his own problems, putting others before him. Jason wouldn't go as far as saying that he was a pacifist, but he was more on that side until someone insulted his friends or family, in this case though, it was his crush.

Nico gave Percy an odd look. The meeting went on until lunch was over and they had to go to class. There was a nagging feeling that Jason had though, like someone was watching them.

~*~

“I think that we should buy Jay a new shirt for Christmas,” Leo stated, looking into the window of the hundredth shop that day.

Piper growled something under her breath. “We bought him a shirt last year, and the year before that as well as for his birthday. If we buy the same thing each year, his mother will hate us more than she already does.”

“Step-mother, Piper, step-mother. And since she's a step, she doesn't really matter. Now, the one with the little cool design or the one with the number eighteen. Maybe we should get some jeans with it, or a jersey...huh,” Leo eyed all of the clothes with an evil eye. “Or would he like a bomber jacket better? I don't want to get him leather though, I heard that it doesn't breath and I seriously don't want a sweaty boyfriend.”

Piper her rolled her eyes at his stupidity. “I don't care, let's just get something and go get a coffee. I need my caffeine!”

Leo huffed and grabbed her hand, dragging her into the store. “You'll get your caffeine...later. Right now we have to find the perfect gift for Jason and I want it to the best so far.”

“Dude, just get him a murse,” A familiar voice said. They both turned to see Percy standing there and looking at the black zip-ups. “So, the one with the skull or the sugar skull?” He held up the two and the duo tilted their heads like it would help them decide.

“Sugar skull, and wow, Jase was right, you are obsessed with Nico,” Piper let out a surprised sound and crossed her arms. The green eyed male blushed.

“I am not, I'm just intrigued.”

“Whoa, Kelp Head knows big boy words,” Another familiar voice said teasingly. They all whipped around and yelled: “Thalia!”

~*~

“Wow, it's been forever since we last saw you,” Percy said excitedly, running up to the dark haired girl. She let out a little chuckle.

“Well, my work has me going around the globe. You should definitely see Greece sometime!” Like her brother, Thalia had electric blue eyes, but unlike Jason, she had black hair. “Anyway, enough about me, how are you guys doing? And I agree with Pipes, sugar skull. Also, what's this about an obsession, does Little Percy have a crush?”

“It's not an obsession dammit!” He stomped his foot like a child after putting away the skull zip-up. “Now be quiet, this song is my favorite.” Percy put back in his ear buds and then continued to walk around the store, not paying attention to the others as they got caught up. He didn't know what Thalia did as a living that made her travel around the world nonstop for over a year, but he was happy that she was back and he knew that Jason would be happy too. He remembered when they were younger, Thalia, Luke and Annabeth were the only people that wanted to be his friends after moving from his old home and friend, Grover, when he was eight. That was when his mother finally decided to leave Gabe, his ex step-father.

Then Luke started to be mean and hang out with other people, and then Thalia left because she was four years older than they were. It was only Annabeth up until seventh grade when they met the others. Percy and Annabeth then went into highschool and that's where they met Reyna, soon after the two girls were dating. The next year, the three musketeers joined them.

Percy hummed along with his song and payed for his items when Piper announced that they were heading to the food court. He could really go for Chinese. When they got there, the first thing he noticed was the handsome male in black, the second thing he noticed was the male's sister and the third thing he noticed was Luke and Beckendorf. Percy would've argued that sitting in between the two duos, where both Luke and Nico could see him, was against his will, but to be honest, he just wanted to stare back at the latter all day. The other three joined him and didn't pay any mind to the two other groups that were watching them.

“Hello Percy,” Hazel greeted with a weak smile. Percy remembered that smile, it was the “I'm okay, but not really” smile. He and his mom used to wear it a lot when they were with Gabe.

“Hi Hazel, how are you?” He asked and she hesitated before shrugged. As he conversed with the younger di Angelo, he dug into his chow mein like he didn't have any nervous butterflies flying around in his stomach because Nico was LOOKING AT HIM! He also tried to not pay attention to the obvious glare Luke was sending him and his crush. But he didn't care, because Nico was freaking looking at HIM!

“H-hey Nico,” Percy stuttered when his small talk with Hazel died down. Even though Nico was shorter than him and almost turning sixteen, Percy could see that he was already going to be taller than him. The green eyed male wasn't exactly short though, around six feet tall. And Jason was taller only because he was younger and had more time to grow, or at least that was Percy's argument. Jason had suggested that it might be because Percy's biological father wasn't as tall as his.

Nico raised a perfectly shaped brow and smiled at him slightly. “Hey, Perce.” Percy swooned. He could tell that he wanted to say something else to him, but then someone interrupted them.

“Nico di Angelo?” A tall man wearing a black suit, highly tinted sunglasses and a wire stood by their tables. Percy's crush nodded and the man grabbed him by the arm, lifting him up to his feet before taking out some hand cuffs. “You are under arrest for murder.”

~*~

Luke could tell that the smaller green eyed male was freaking out as they stood in the police department. After a stressful afternoon, all seven of them were cleared and they were now waiting on what was going to happen to Nico. Luke didn't like them much, that was pretty obvious, but he had to pity them as they worried over the fact that their friend was accused for something he didn't do. At least, something they think Nico didn't do.

He wouldn't go as far as to say that he was one hundred percent guilty, but he was the one that fit the description of the supposed murderer. Luke didn't know what to think by now though, things that he thought would never happen had happened. Up until about a month ago, the kidnapper had only taken people who had gone to his place was the intention of taking the house, aka the police. Never had the man, or lady, taken a student who was either vandalizing or snooping around. Though there was this one case two or three years ago about a girl being kidnapped and murdered.

Luke didn't think much of it though, that is until his team mates started to disappear. Nico also hated him and his crew because of what they did to Percy's little posse. They didn't do anything as stupid as trying to beat up the kid or go as far as to leaving physical evidence that they were there, just little words here and there, jabs. Nico on the other hand treated them like they were the spawn of Satan, though he was the one raising hell.

The football team knew of his little crush since the beginning of his highschool. It wasn't hard to see, what with the obvious stares of wanting and puppy love, it sickened Luke slightly. Nico was also a lot stronger than he seemed, when he first found out about the verbal abuse, he brought a couple of people from his little group of friends and threatened them with their fists. The weirdos played little pranks on them here and there, sometimes when there was a party they would act as the paparazzi and capture them at the weirdest times. And then a feud broke out between the two groups, but even though it was one of the biggest ones on campus, Nico made sure that it came no where near Percy.

Percy, the stupid kid that used to stare at him with adoring eyes. Percy, the boy who sat under the tree in the front yard of the school with his gang of homosexuals. Percy, the idiot who smiles when the sun peaks out after a downpour. Percy, the one who didn't even know that Nico existed until a couple of weeks ago.

Luke still couldn't believe that Nico was able to hide not only his feelings, but also himself, the feud and his past and present relations to Percy's gang for two years, even though Percy would go to the cafe that Hazel worked at almost every week with his friends after school on the weekends.

Luke would never admit that Nico and Percy's gangs were slightly growing on him, no, he would deny it and say that he just respected them.

~*~

Octavian Simmons. Jason absolutely hated the guy. He was on the debate team, and that was okay with Jason, but he was also on the student council, three seats away from him. He was the cousin of Will Solace, a friend of Nico's or so he heard. Jason could never understand how those two were related. Octavian was a bitter soul, while Will was like the sun, happy and always bright, a prominent contrast to Nico.

Jason always compared Octavian to someone else though, Castellan. Luke was mean, Octavian was pure evil. Luke got the things he wanted by bullying verbally, Octavian manipulated. He was the king of a group that many people called the “Resting Bitch Faces”. No one really liked them, they were always around the corner hearing everything that everyone didn't want them to hear, then magically, someone told the people who they didn't want to be know and all hell broke lose.

One of the biggest fights that had been going on since two years ago, was something surrounding a certain green eyed male. Jason didn't know how Percy didn't see the feuds, Jason himself didn't know what they were about, but they were there and it had split the school into quarters. Uneven quarters, but there was four main groups.

Jason sighed as he walked out of the school and towards his car. In the passenger seat, he saw his phone flashing and let out a sound of relief. He had thought for the whole meeting that someone had stolen his phone again, but there it was and on the screen was a text from Leo. _Babe, we're at the police department. Nico has been arrested for murder_. Jason's face contorted into an ugly look as he drove away from the school as fast as he could.

Leo didn't text in full sentences, he didn't like them, but when he did text in full sentences that meant that he was freaking out and needed something to do with his hands. No doubt he was currently playing angry birds or some stressful game like crossy road right at that moment. The last time he had been this anxious was when his science teacher called down his father to talk, and that ended with Leo having to sit out from labs for the rest of the semester.

But then he remembered the text. Nico had been arrested for murder. Was there evidence? Could he really be the killer? But if he was, then what was his motive? Why would he ruin his sister's happiness? The sister that was always there for him and he loved very dearly. He also didn't have any reasons to kill or kidnap Frank, they were on a mutual agreement that they had to keep Hazel happy and well. Nico didn't like Ethan or Alabaster, he didn't dislike them enough to murder them either, it would be Luke that he would've taken. And then Annabeth, Percy's best friend since the beginning, why would he take away one of Percy's friends. Then again, Jason didn't know if Nico even knew about Percy until a couple of weeks ago.

What ever was happening though, he hoped that it would be over soon.

~*~

Nico? A murderer? Why would his Nico be a murderer? He was so sweet and kind and handsome and kind, did he mention sweet? He was just perfect, so why was he being considered a murderer? Was it because of the way he dressed, or acted, or looked? Percy had to admit that he didn't all that friendly to others except for a handful of people, but he was sweet to the people he did let touch him and he always treated them fair. Percy just hoped that they would let him go and drop all of the charges, but he knew that he didn't do it.

“Jackson, calm down, you making the whole group panic,” Luke said with a voice he used on him a lot of times, but for some reason it was kind of soothing now. Maybe it was because he was getting used to Luke's presence again...

“I'm okay,” Percy gasped. He looked up to see the blond shaking his head. Others were now here, Reyna, Jason and a tall man that resembled Nico.

“Ah, Mister di Angelo,” a woman walked towards them.

“What's going on?” Nico's father asked.

The woman sighed, pushing her black and brown ringlet hair behind her ear. She oozed a comforting and warm aura, making Percy relax slightly. She looked like she didn't belong in this place, a place filled with men with guns. “Mr. La Rue would like to talk to you about that.” The tall man left and the woman sighed again. “If you could all wait over there, this will take a while. I'll see if I can get you something to drink and eat.”

They all went to where she pointed to and sat down awkwardly, only the sound of the busy station and the soft music of Leo's game filled the empty void. Percy took out his ear buds from his pocket and put them in, blasting his music, making Jason look his way for a second before going back to helping his boyfriend with a phone game. Reyna and Thalia were discussing something, while Luke and Piper sat in silence beside each other and watched the officers walk past them. Soon, they were all holding scolding drinks.

Percy took a small sip and make a little noise of annoyance when he burned his tongue and wanted to spit out the bitter taste of coffee. He didn't like coffee, he like hot chocolate, and so he gave it to Thalia, who had already finished hers. He sighed and looked at the clock. It was after seven, he should probably tell his mom that he wasn't coming home tonight unless the department kicked them out. With that in mind, he texted her and then curled up in a ball and tried to go to sleep while leaning against Thalia, who put an arm around him to keep his from falling over or off the bench.

He sighed at the feeling of her warmth. It had been such a long time since he had seen her, she was like his older sister that he never had. They fought sometimes, insulted each other and then made up again a day later. But then she and Luke left them and he only had Annabeth. Sometimes he wished he was back in the old days, but then remembered that he didn't know Jason, Leo, Piper, Reyna or any of the others back then. He then thinks about if his mother had never moved them to this small town, he wouldn't have met any of them, and that made him sad. Percy didn't like how fragile life was.

~ _Three Days Later_ ~

Percy still didn't know what he looked like. He had been there for about two days, being taken away right after he left the police department. It was strange at first, then it became a silent box of depression and pure torture. He now knew why Annabeth said isolation was one of the biggest tortures out there. You just sat there and you only company was your mind. Percy hated it.

The last thing he remembered before being taken was what the nice lady who gave them yucky coffee said. _I'm sorry_. He didn't know what that meant, was she sorry that she couldn't do anything or was it because something happened to Nico. Was the police department somehow connected to the disappearances or did they find the people, but they were already....

Percy didn't want to finish that thought, it made him want to puke again.

Sometimes he would fall asleep, then when he woke up there would be a cup with water and a small granola bar. It only came when he was asleep, he tried to fake being asleep, but the person somehow knew and only came when he actually did fall under the blanket of darkness. So far, he had only gone to sleep three times, but he didn't know when. There was no clock, no window, only the air shaft above him the size of a brick and the light coming from under the door. Other than his breathing, the sound of water could be heard and filled the void. He wanted to be home with his mom, he wanted to be anywhere but here.

He kept thinking about the others. Were they okay, did they also get captured? Did they others get who did it and couldn't find him and the possible other survivors? Was he just bait like all of the others before him? Maybe he was already dead, living in hell...did hell have granola bars? He wondered how the others were doing, were they getting along?

Then he threw out all of those thoughts and just curled up into a tighter ball to go to sleep once more.

~*~

Jason sat numbly in his living room along with Leo, Piper, Luke, Thalia and Reyna. Beckendorf and Percy were gone, the last people who left the police department. According to the people in the parking lot, they had both left the building and then disappeared. The school had been shut down, friends had gone to each others houses when the officers put everyone under house arrest.

In the kitchen he could hear all of their parents conversing in loud voices. On the tv, there was a reporting standing in front of a cellar door, the police flowing inside with guns. They had found the place out in the woods, when they resurfaced though, they had only found two people, both were cops, both close to death. None of their school mates had been found so far. Nico was still being held in the station cells, his father was the only one that was aloud to stay. Even Jason's father, the mayor had asked Ms. Chase if she knew what to do, she didn't. That was never a good sign.

All of the parents of the missing children were desperate, letters came everyday through email, complaining to Mr. Grace, who payed no mind to them and continued to push his people to find the missing. Jason still didn't know why his father had started to find the killer/kidnapper so late after the first report. Maybe it was the gather information, or it was because he was scared, just like Annabeth had said two weeks ago.

The hours passed by like days, it was only the next day when something big happened. They had turned on the television the next morning with the intent of watching cartoons, but the adults had left on the news. The first thing they saw at the bottom was that all of the kidnapped had been retrieved. They had hugged, cried, celebrated, but then the news that the person who did it wasn't found. The house arrest had been lifted and they had all rushed to the hospital to great their friends and missing loved ones.

When they had gotten there, all of their friends were sharing a room, Luke's friends, Nico's future in-law, Percy and Annabeth and others that had gone missing, including a red head that Octavian was whispering with. In the corner, Nico was sitting beside Hazel who was holding Frank's hand, crying and kissing the taller guy. The black haired male though was looking at someone different, Percy. Jason's chest constricted when he took a look at Percy. The other male had bags under his eyes, and he kept shifting in his sleep. Annabeth, who was watching over him from her bed that was closer than it was supposed to be, was sitting up and behind her, her mother was saying something to the poor nurse who look ready to run for it.

They all sat beside Percy's bed and from the corner of his eye, Jason saw Luke give Percy a guilty look. Jason took this time to look around, taking note of all the others. Ethan was now missing an eye, Beckendorf had been burned on his arms, hands and part of his face, Silena had her eyes covered with the chance of becoming blind, Alabaster looked like he walked through hell with a full tour. Frank was relatively okay, Annabeth was now sporting a couple of wounds that would leave scars here and there, the girl that was talking with Octavian looked okay, but she also looked slightly haunted like she had seen the future or something.

Soon after they arrived, Sally came and was already bawling her eyes out, indicating that she had arrived earlier. Annabeth motioned to her and together the two females sat on the bed and watched the boy sleep fitfully.

“I feel like I failed him,” they could hear Sally say. Annabeth shook her head.

“No, you didn't fail him, you couldn't have done anything, none of us could. It's not your fault,” she told the older woman.

“But I could've kept him at home, maybe moved closer to the town so he wouldn't have to pass that place everyday. What if this had happened earlier? He could've died!” Sally wailed. “My poor little baby!”

Someone walked closer to them and Jason looked up to see Nico looking at them. “I know what it's like to feel this way,” he told them, looking down at his feet for a moment before heaving a sigh and sat down in the only available chair. “It's hard, trying to get past this, but at least he's alive.” Jason gave him a suspicious glare. “My sister, wasn't as fortunate. My father was a well known man before we moved here a decade ago. He thought that if we lived in a smaller town, we would be safer, but we weren't and my sister lost her life because of that.”

They stared at him with surprised looks. “That was maybe three, four years ago. I was around eleven, almost twelve. My sister was kidnapped, just like Percy, just like all the others, she didn't make though and the man was never captured.” With that, the male stood and left the room, muttering something under his breath. The room was silent and Jason knew that the others had also heard and now knew why the boy wore black, the color of mourning.

~*~

_“Authorities are saying that there is nothing else that can be done. Now, they live a town with a possible kidnapper of the lose with nothing to stop him from attacking again. This unknown figure has been named the Madman. One of the suspects now also walks free on the streets even though he has been charged with kidnapping twice and murder once. Many of the families are angry though, they want revenge and to see a check in their mail for compensation._

“ _One family in particular has been moved from their house outside of town and into a small one near the local highschool. The boy's condition has been kept a secret and his mother has kept quiet. Now all we can do for this family and many others is to pray that they will recover. This is Karen, sending it back to the desk.”_

“ _In other news-”_

He tuned out the sound of their talking, before sighing and stopping the video that was all over the internet. The face of the suspect had not been posted, that was the only thing that was keeping them from finding him in his apartment in New York. It had been five years since that report had been made, he had left right after his release, his father paying for his apartment for the whole time.

He had just finished highschool last month and now he was preparing to go to a post-secondary school to become a coroner, just like his father. There wasn't really anything else he could do besides that since he hadn't planned ahead, only the thoughts of a certain green eyed male was on his mind for the last eight years of his life. When he was finished with school, he would get a job and then continue doing what he had been doing for his whole life. Living, breathing, eating and sleeping. It was a dull pattern, one he was sick of, but for now it was the only thing he knew.

Nico knew though, that one day, he will uncover the mystery of the man that killed his sister and traumatized his friends and ex foes. He will find the Madman, or he will die trying.

 **To be continued...**  

 


End file.
